Primitive & country crafting blog. Inspiring, lots of photos, spotlighted shoppes and crafters, free patterns & more.
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Zoho Writer: FREE Program For PDF Files
A few pattern makers on a Prim Forum I belong to asked how they could turn their paper patterns into PDF files for Epatterns. I mentioned that I do mine on a FREE program called Zoho Writer. They checked out the link but were a little overwhelmed by the program. While I don't pretend to know everything about it, I have used it a number of times for my own e-patterns and wrote up some instructions on how I use it. If you are interested in reading them you are welcome to download the pdf : Creating E-Pattern PDF Files On Zoho
Harvest Pumpkin Pinkeeps
I've been in a pinkeep making mood lately. First it was pears, now it's pumpkins. I have the first one listed for sale on my Prim Patterns 'n Handmades Blog. It can be purchased right from there with PayPal. This second pumpkin pinkeep will be listed in my Ezhoppe today. I'm working on a third to list either on eBay or Etsy, haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll just make a fourth and that will take care of itself, lol. The pattern for the pumpkin itself is a free one that you can download here . It comes in two sizes. I drew out two leaves on cardstock, different sizes and then used that as a pattern for cutting the leaves out from felt. I inserted rusty wire into the pumpkin - inside one end and out the other - then wrapped the wires around a pencil to get the curly tendrils. There are four tendrils that sit alone, and then a fifth where the leaves are attached ( I used fabric glue to attach the leaves) so it looks like a 'vine'.
I made the hang tags in my Paint Shop Pro Program and printed them off on white cardstock. They read 'Harvest Thyme'. I couldn't find my hole punch so just used a large embroidery needle to put a hole through the top of the tag for attaching. The first photo has raffia threaded through the tag and tied onto the stem. The second pumpkin was thread onto the opposite end of the 'vine' and then curled.
Click on the photos to view larger images.
Bakery Candles: Long Cane Primitives
I've recently become acquainted with Terri Browning of Long Cane Primitives. She had kindly donated an epattern for our Sept. issue of Primitive Times Magazine ( which is an awesome pattern - don't miss it!! It will be out around Sept. 6th).
I've been drooling over Terri's Bakery Candles. Not only do they look good enough to 'eat', her descriptions make your mouth water!
This one is called Walnut With Cream Cheese Icing Grubby Bundt Cake.
It weighs 3 lbs , 7" by 4" and comes loaded with drippy gooey cream cheese icing. Rich walnut cake heavy with notes of brown sugar. The cream cheese scented icing has base notes of graham crackers and sweet cream butter, middle notes of vanilla, sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese, with a hint of almond as a top note. Topped with a generous amount of handpoured walnut halves. These yummy scented cakes even come with their own glass plates! There are 3 burning wicks with a burn time of 45-50 hours.
Summer Pineapple Grubby Heart Cake Candle
Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Cake
Am I tempting you yet? To view lots more of Terri's amazing cake candles ( and pies!) visit her site at www.longcaneprimitives.com
Terri also sells the embeds for cake candles. Don't those raspberries and cherries and walnuts look real? They're 'embeds'.
You can also find handmade soaps like Summer Harvest Primitive, Grubby Apple -Brown Sugar and Chestnut, Grubby Pumpkin, Butter Brickle With Cream & Sugar Cubes Goats Milk Soap....and lots more!!
Tell Terri that Neenee sent ya!
Folkart Pear Pinkeep
This is another pear pinkeep I made using 6 different patterned & calico fabrics. It was listed in my eBay store this morning.
If you collect pinkeeps - this would make a great addition to your collection!
August Issue - Primitive Times Magazine
The August is now ready for download! Just click on the image to download your FREE copy today! It is in pdf file format so you must have Adobe Reader to view it. If you don't have Adobe Reader click here to download it for free
In this issue: 4 FREE e-patterns, recipe corner, WHAM advice with Diane, crafting with Angie, featured crafter, home tours with Angie, WHAM Business Club, Back To School
Prim Pear Pinkeep Give-A-way
I just finished this pinkeep up this afternoon. I've donated it to Shari Kraft of Cranapple Christmas Blog for a give-away contest she is sponsoring. Be sure to visit Cranapple Christmas so you don't miss out on the FREE give-a-way!
I've just listed this Pinkeep on my website for sale. It's huge, measuring 10 inches tall. It will hold alot of pins and needles.
The pear has been crafted with brown wool felt and brown plaid homespun, filled with polyfill.
The stem is woolfelt as are the stars and leaves.
The hangtag is attached with raffia.
This pear pinkeep is now listed at KKL Primitives for $12.95 + shipping.
To see a larger view of the pear, just click on the photo.
I don't know why I have this 'thing' with pinkeeps right now, you can only use one at at time, lol. But I'm really having fun making them and I'm also involved in a pinkeep swap at one of the craft forums I belong to. There are also several on Swap Bot that I'm keeping my eye on.
Old Tool Box Shelf
I had been looking for a small prim shelf for my bathroom for quite a while. The ones I was interested in were always too long for the small wall space I have. I was browsing in an antique store in Lancaster, PA in June on our way to the shore, and one of the booths had an old wooden tool box turned upside down and it was attached to the 'wall' to look like a shelf. I just loved it, and I had two tool boxes at home and thought one of them might be just the right size. And it was! The handle makes a perfect towel holder.
Baby Sock Rose Bouquet
Aren't these baby sock roses just adorable??!!! A perfect gift for a baby shower or to deliver to a new mom at the hospital.
The following photos directions were posted by Cheri aka Country Cottage at the Prim Part Forum. They are posted here with permission from Cheri. *Ü*
Cheri says she got the instructions from an 'older book' called Craft -a-Party Baby Showers.
Cheri's instructions:
I use the straight craft wire that you can get at WalMart. I used the 18 gauge wire, that way the stems aren't wobbly. It comes in green or silver. All Walmart had was the silver, which is OK, because you will cover it up with florist tape. I usually buy 6 pairs of socks that way you will have a dozen 'roses'.
Beginning at the toe, roll the single sock to 1" or so from the open end. I roll them on a slant, that way you get the different levels, then take the open end and flip it up over the bottom of the rose.
Take the wire and wrap it around the bottom of the "rose". Take your green florist tape, (also carried at WalMart) and wrap the bottom of the rose along with the entire stem.
When working with florist tape, the key is to pull on it as you wrap. That's what makes it stick. In the beginning when I was making them, I would lose the rose shape all the time. So don't worry if that happens, just start all over.
When they are all finished lay them on tissue paper. Add some silk greenery and a filler if you like, then wrap them up and tie with a bow. You will get different shaped roses depending on the material of the socks.
Salt Dough Pantry Cakes - For Deby
Deby commented yesterday on an older post regarding salt dough ornies, that she is looking for a recipe for making a salt dough bundt cake. I didn't know of any but I went into the Primitive & Rustic Crafts & Decorating Forum to ask around.
These are the responses I received Deby - thanks so much Barb & Maggie!!
Neenee, this is the recipe for the pantry cakes. This one was given to me either by Cathy or Terri. This recipe will probably have to be doubled to make the bundt cake: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup coffee grounds, and 1/2 cup cold coffee. Spray the pan with cooking spray. What she would have to do is press the dough all around the inside (about 1/4 or more thick), then wad up foil to fill in the middle, and then put a layer at the top to cover the foil. Otherwise, if the whole pan is filled with the dough, it won't dry completely and will get moldy and icky. Then, you bake it in a slow oven for a couple of hours or leave it out in the sun for a really long time to dry. When it's dry, rub spices all over it or make that fake icing with white glue and white paint to drizzle over the top. Hope this helps. Barb
Regina was born and raised on a farm in Chilhowie, Southwest Virginia.
She currently lives in the Great Appalachian Mountains of VA in a town called Saltville where the landscape is breathtaking. A beautiful place to live and raise children. Regina has one daughter, Morgan aged 22. Morgan was married in March of this year to a wonderful guy named Derrick.
Regina loves going to craft shows, antiquing, second hand shops, flea markets and yard sales "anywhere I can find junk, I love my junk!". She also enjoys music, swimming, camping and most of all crafting anything primitive.
How long have you been crafting? I've been crafting most all my life! My mother taught me how to crochet when I was 12 years old and I've been crafting since then! I was hooked from that first day she showed me how to make a granny square! I'm always looking for new things to make!
What or who influences you? My family mostly, I remember my grandmother making lye soap outside over an open fire! My mother always working on quilts and sewing clothes for our family! I want the younger generation to see how our grandparents and great grandparents lived.
I am so happy to see more and more people wanting to learn about our heritage! Everything I make is handmade or hand painted! My older brother Mike has a lot of influence on me, Mike and his wife have a leather shop and make some of the most beautiful saddles and accessories for horses, he sells on eBay and at his home, a wonderful craftsman !
What is your favorite item/s to craft? I love to make olde time lye soaps! I cook my own lard outside in a big wash tub for my soap making! I use my grandmother's recipe for all my lye soaps! I also enjoy working with wood, painting, sewing, anything primitive!
How long have you had your online store? Rusty Bucket Prims has been open for just a few months! I have really enjoyed having my own website!
How did you come up with the name Rusty Bucket Prims? I thought a long time on what to name my website, one day I had planted a lot of flowers in some old rusty buckets & enamel pans, I have them sitting everywhere! I had company that day and everyone started calling me the rusty bucket lady! LOL
What do you sell in your online store? You just never know what I might have listed! I love the unusual and unique! Old 'n worn country primitives, Folk art, one-of-a-kind items, lye soaps, doll dresses, doll bonnets, stacking/nesting boxes, rusty pins & nails, rag rugs, prim dish rags, grubby dolls, fabric cover boxes & books, decorative painting, seed bags, rusty wire candle holders, grubby candles, old weathered tobacco stick peg racks !
What is your best seller/s? My biggest sellers are my doll dresses, lye soaps, my rusty pins and nails, hand crocheted dish rags, prairie bonnets, sawdust pillows, my hand wrapped soaps, primitive dolls on old wooden thread spools! Most anything cloth, stained, and painted like chickens, dolls, pillows!
Do you sell wholesale items? I do sell some wholesale like my lye soaps and rusty pins and nails!
What types of advertising do you like to use to promote your store? I like to do banner exchanges, plug boards, networking, top sites, and I hand out business cards as much as possible.
I'm on a wonderful site THE PRIMITIVE HANDMADE DIRECTORY ( http://theprimitivehandmadedirectory.com/ ) website for the month of August for her giveaway! Just a great Lady!
With the way the economy is right now, have sales dropped or remained the same for Rusty Bucket Prims? My sales have picked up in the past month or so. I hear more and more people have started shopping on line so they don't spend on gas! In my case I guess it's been good so far because my sales have been doing better!
What other venues do you use to sell your crafts/wares? I sell on eBay, Etsy, webshots, and I do a couple of craft shows a year!
Do you have any advice for crafters who are thinking about opening an online store? It's a great opportunity to get your wares out and meet a lot of super people!
I had no problem following Vin's directions. Easy Peasy! But I noticed that not ALL of my posts were showing. Out of 348 only about 102 were in my sidebar. Now I could find my older posts easily enough by going into my dashboard, clicking on Manage Posts and doing a search. For example I was looking for some posts I had made when I first created this blog on how I made my homemade floral potpourri. I typed in potpourri - and the post came right up. I didn't have to read through each listing. But these earlier posts were not displaying in the side bar.
I went back to Vin's blog and commented on his titles without dates post that I was having a problem and explained what it was. He got back to me right away and while it took a couple days to get it worked out, Vin was patient with me and sent me various codes to try. This morning I'm so HAPPY that it's all GOOD and working just the way I want it.
I highly recommend visiting Tips For Bloggers . Especially if you are using the Beta Blogger version. This is the one where you have Layout instead of template and page elements for creating new categories with move and drop method of organizing them. I have been using the original version with template in this blog, otherwise I wouldn't be able to use this particular 3 column template.
A friend sent me this humorous email today and I thought I'd share it and hope it makes you laugh too!
Games For Older People 1. Sag, you're It. 2. Hide and go pee. 3. 20 questions shouted into your good ear. 4. Kick the bucket 5. Red Rover, Red Rover, the nurse says Bend Over. 6. Musical recliners. 7. Simon says - something incoherent.
Signs Of Menopause 1. You sell your home heating system at a yard sale. 2. You have to write post-it notes with your kids' names on them. 3. You change your underwear after a sneeze.
Old Is When: 1. Going bra-less pulls all the wrinkles out of your face. 2. You don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go a long. 3. Getting a little action means you don't need fiber today. 4. Getting lucky means you find your car in the parking lot. 5. An all-nighter means not getting up to pee!
Thoughts for the weekend: Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctr- Alt- Delete' and start all over? If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called 'labor!' Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
Ponderisms I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes. Garden Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement. Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to? In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal. How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire? Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here and drink whatever comes out?' Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt.' If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him? Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if he's going to look up there anyway? Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
New Blog - Prim Patterns 'n Handmades
I created another blog......this time the blog strictly sells ( I hope) my Epatterns ( which I have yet to upload and I really need to get busy and make some more) and crafts I've made that need a new home.
Stop by for a visit and feel free to plug your 'family safe' site on the plugboard.
Looking For E-Pattern Donations
I'm a co-editor for the FREE online prim Ezine Primitive Times Magazine . We are always looking for contributors each month. Our readers get a great free pattern and you get FREE advertising! Contact me at kklprimitives@comcast.net with the pdf file, your website banner and URL. You still have time to make the August issue!
To find instructions for primming up ugly colored or overly bright embroidery floss you'd like to use for your prim stitchings, check out this blog Primitives By The Light Of The Moon . Ingenious! I'm going to have to give that a try myself. The blogger was super smart and bought up a ton of embroidery floss when WalMart reduced their prices because they were no longer going to be carrying it. By the time I found out WalMart wasn't going to carry it any longer, they were already sold out.
Daughter Met Some Celebrity Actors
My middle daughter Carey has been working as a waitress at the Hilton Hotel's Jackson's Restaurant for the past year in Canonsburg, PA.
Her boss's brother wrote a screenplay and the movie is currently being made here in Pittsburgh. The movie is 'Shannon's Rainbow'.
Many of the actors that are starring in the movie are staying at the Hilton and eating at Jackson's.
Carey has seen Jason Gedrick who has played on Desperate Housewives and Scott Reeves who is Clint Eastwood's son and looks alot like his dad. She says both are much better looking in person.
She has waited on Michael Madsen and Louis Gosset Jr. and says both are super nice guys! Louis Gosset Jr. loves her smile. Both also tipped her generously!
While Eric Roberts, Darryl Hannah, and George Lopez are also in the movie and other folks that Carey works with have waited on them, she has yet to see them.
She called me this evening to tell me that she waited on Louis Gosset Jr. tonight and she sat and talked with him for a few minutes. She says he is 'just so nice'.
I Will Install 3 Column Blogger Templates . . .
Do you like my blogger template? Do you want one similar to it but don't know how to add the template or change color scheme? I can do all of this for you for a minimal fee of $25 . If I design your topper there is an additional $5 fee.
3 Column Template is NOT my design. It is a free blogger template. What I am charging for is my time for working on your blog. However, the credits for the template is included in the code and it must remain on your blog.
I would need access to your blog. For security reasons, you may change your password to one that only you and I can use. When I've finished your template, you can change your password back to the original.
Personal or business Blogs
* Please keep in mind that it is much easier to redesign a template from a brand new blog. When you have a blog where you have added new items yourself, such as plugboards, topsites voting, visitor counters, etc. All will be lost when new template is inserted. You must reinsert all of those into the new template. You can back those up by copying and pasting into notepad and saving as text documents. When ready, you can open these and copy and paste into your template. You will NOT lose any postings you've made, the archives will remain intact.
Payment must be made before I begin work. You will be notified when work has begun and ended. If you decide you want to change color schemes, etc. there is no extra charge.
3 column template
3 co-ordinating colors of your choice: background, main post header & categories ( solid colors only) choose colors for heading texts ( dark colors on light backgrounds, light colors on dark backgrounds)
Topper with name of your blog ( you must use my pixel size specifications if you design your own topper. If I design it, there is an additional $5 fee).
HTML codes inserted for adding links, image hosted links, plugboards, visitor counters
While I did not redesign the original Krazy Kraft Lady's 3column template, I have made some changes on my own (color scheme, headings, etc) and I did design the toppers for my KKL Graphics Blog & my KKL Primitives Blog .
These are two blog sites I've added/revised 3 column templates for:
Once payment has been made, you will receive email asking for your specifications. Color scheme and html color codes or a swatch of the exact colors wanted, text colors ( usually black or white ), username and password ( again, you can always change this once template is completed), list of categories you want placed in sidebar ( about us, email, plugboard, links, etc)
Please note: If you are having trouble with the PayPal button, please email me at kklprimitives@comcast.net and I will send you the correct invoice.
Please Sign Guest Book
I've just added a new Slider Guestbook at the very bottom of the blog page. Please be sure to sign ( add your photo) and say hello!! *Ü*
Snowman PinKeep
This is another cap pincushion I finished up this morning. He's not quite done yet, as I want to make him a tophat with black felt, which I'm out of. The base is a cap from a Dow bathroom spray cleaner, lol. I'm going around the house looking for caps and I'll be telling my daughters to save me all of theirs. His head is made from soft & natural, his 'coat' from red wool felt. The coat button is a star shape made from salt dough, which I purchased about a year ago. It is an actual button with two holes in the center and is sewed on. The snowman's eyes are sewn on beads and his nose is a wooden matchstick which I've painted orange. His mouth and eyebrows are hand stitched. Scarf is homespun and tacked with fabric glue to keep it in place.
Cap Pin Cushion
I saw a link for a really cute ladybug pincushion and I wanted to give it a shot. I didn't have black felt for the ladybug, but I wanted to try out the base anyway using a bottle cap as the tut called for. I wasn't happy with it at all. It was too small for my taste and my fingers. This was my result.
As you can see it is not much larger than a spool of thread.
I hunted around the house for a larger cap to use and decided on a hairspray cap which worked out perfectly. It was easier for me to handle and I like the size.
Not having the black felt to finish off the ladybug, and being too impatient to wait until the weekend to go to the craft store, I decided to go ahead and make a pincushion without the ladybug. Instead I made a felt flower w/ leaf and sewed on a string of tiny 'pearls' around the top of the base. I think it turned out cute.
The rules for receiving this award are: 1) Put the logo on your blog. 2) Add a link to the person who awarded you. 3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs. 4) Add links to those blogs on yours. 5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.
In this great issue we have 3 NEW E-Patterns, TONS Of Recipes some with YUMMY photos, we have photos of Laurie's Fair Time Edition, Scrapbook Layout Pattern, We also have great BUSINESS articles on the NEW Wave of blogging called Entrecard, plus Business Tips with Denise and more! This is our largest issue yet with OVER 71 PAGES!!!!!
Grandmother Patchwork Keychain
I just sold my first 'product' at Zazzle.com! Of course I don't get the full purchase price, only a percentage, but it's MY FIRST SALE
I made the hang tags in my Paint Shop Pro Program and printed them off on white cardstock. They read 'Harvest Thyme'. I couldn't find my hole punch so just used a large embroidery needle to put a hole through the top of the tag for attaching. The first photo has raffia threaded through the tag and tied onto the stem. The second pumpkin was thread onto the opposite end of the 'vine' and then curled. 
Aren't these baby sock roses just adorable??!!! A perfect gift for a baby shower or to deliver to a new mom at the hospital. 
Beginning at the toe, roll the single sock to 1" or so from the open end. I roll them on a slant, that way you get the different levels, then take the open end and flip it up over the bottom of the rose.
When they are all finished lay them on tissue paper. Add some silk greenery and a filler if you like, then wrap them up and tie with a bow. You will get different shaped roses depending on the material of the socks. 
Regina Frye: artist & owner of Rusty Bucket Prims
